Don’t Judge Us: 15 Things That Make Bloggers Super Happy

Bloggers – we’re an odd bunch, aren’t we? Inspiration for this article came a while back when one of my Facebook photos became a discussion ground between a young couple.

The photo had been up for some time – it was a super tasty shot of a Freak Shake from amazing Bristol-based coffee house, The Beehive – and this couple decided to make date plans in the comments section of my photo.

Now, I know what you’re thinking – why would this be exciting for me?

Well, you see this kind of thing on huge brands like Innocent Smoothies and Ben & Jerry’s all the time. But when it happens to a small blogger like me, just wow!

And then it got me thinking… there are loads of things out there that seem trivial to non-bloggers, yet totally make bloggers super happy. Check out this list…

1. Non-bloggers commenting on our blogs…

Bloggers themselves comment on articles all the time. Partly because it can sometimes get them a link back to their site, but it also makes people aware of them who may also be reading the article. Nothing wrong with that, but there’s often a hidden agenda. Whereas non-bloggers do it simply because they either really loved or really hated your article… enough to evoke a reaction out of them. Think about it – when was the last time you commented on an article you found in Google… I’ll bet you don’t do it very often. Yet, when you do… WOW! You’ve totally made someone’s day – especially when your comments are as nice as this one:

2. Non-bloggers following us on social! (Hey guys!)

Just knowing we’ve done enough to attract someone to follow us on social is pretty awesome. But when it’s also a non-blogger not expecting a follow or like back, well… that’s even more awesome!!

3. Non-bloggers messaging us to ask questions…

Whether it be via social media or the contact form on our website, it feels pretty damn awesome when people contact us to ask questions about our niche. It makes us feel like we kinda know what we’re talking about… sometimes…

4. Totally random people commenting on our Facebook photos (OMG! We’ve made it to the big time)!

As you read in my intro, this happened to me a while back for the first time and I loved it. My photo of a Bristol Freak Shake spurred a discussion to ensue between a couple who were planning a date to go get one. Not only did I convince someone to go buy something I’ve recommended, but this was totally random people who’d never heard of my blog before. All I wonder now is whether they checked out more of my stuff? They could be reading this right now… (Hi guys???)

5. Having our blogs featured as Google Snippets…

If Google deems an article totally awesome and helpful to searchers, they’ll take “snippets” of that article to be shown at the very top of some search results. That’s like the holy grail of Page 1! And when this happens to just one article, amazing. Two articles, even more amazing! 10 articles, now we’re talking! Over 50 articles, we might as well just quit our jobs and become full-time bloggers!

6. Large companies genuinely following us on social (and not unfollowing us later!)

For all you super loyal readers out there (Hi Mum!), you’ll know I love puddings, and I also love the Ben & Jerry’s blog (one of my recommendations for a big of light-hearted reading). So of course, I followed them on Twitter. Then wait, they followed me back. Okay, that was pretty cool… but they were totally going to unfollow me several days later, right? Fast-forward 6 months later, well they’re still following me on Twitter!! Woo!

7. Reading other blogs & seeing new blogs published (especially when we follow that blogger religiously)!

There are a handful of bloggers out there who I’m an avid fan and reader of. I’ll basically read everything they post, even if I’m not thinking of travelling to that place they’re talking about, or whatever. (Find out who these awesome bloggers are in an upcoming post due to be published Jan 1st 2018, as I’ll totally be recommending you follow them next year)! Anyway, I think they’re awesome and I jump for joy when they post a new article. There’s 10-20 minutes of my day gone catching up on their latest adventures with a cuppa in hand. If anyone does this with my blog, you know what, I’d love to hear it – that would totally be another thing to add to this list!!

Spam comments and messages come through multiple times per day, it’s just part and parcel of this job I’m afraid. And you know what, I read almost every single one. Why? Well, they’re bloody annoying but pretty damn funny. Just check out what this guy took the time to say… I don’t think I’ve ever actually tackled religion on my blog, which made this even more hilarious!

9. Non-bloggers making a Pinterest board full of our pins…

Recently, a woman started pinning a bunch of my posts that were about Bristol to a special board. I checked it out, and it was called: “For Elaine”. It was a bunch of pins related to things to do in Bristol and moving to Bristol. Ooh, I think Elaine is coming to this awesome city, and her friend/mum/sister decided it would be awesome to collect a bunch of pinned articles for her. And hey, all mine were in there! Isn’t that awesome?

So that’s my current list of things that make me super happy within the blogging world. But now let’s hear what others say…

10. Friends sending us info about a destination, which is from our own blog!

Recently, I got in touch with a friend who lives near a remote tourist destination that not many people can access on a day-to-day basis. I asked him about the current permission to stay status for ‘Berijam Forest Guest House’, a popular attraction near Berijam Lake in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu. He sent me a screenshot saying that it has all the information I need. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it is a screenshot from my own blog post! It made my day!

11. Fixing things on our websites (especially when we’re non-techy)!

Perhaps this is especially satisfying for me because I’m not a super techy person, and I’m sure people who are well versed at coding would laugh at some of the moments I have been proud of, but I always do a big happy dance when I work on fixing or upgrading something on my website and I manage to actually set it up correctly!

12. Companies letting us know how our joint campaigns have gone AND sending us testimonials…

It can be really disheartening when you work so hard on a campaign and hear nothing but silence once you send through the results and ask for a testimonial. When a company enjoys your work AND sends through a thoughtful testimonial, it is like Christmas for a blogger and makes you feel appreciated for all the hours of hard work.

13. Brands contacting us to request our input in their campaigns…

With tons of blogging related things to do every day, it’s nice when brands reach out to me and ask to collaborate on an upcoming campaign. This simple gesture validates all my hard work. By the way, pitching and frequently working with brands is one of the important blogging lessons I’ve learned from over two years of blogging.

14. Brands sharing our content on social media!

15. Our blogs going viral or even just semi-viral!

I woke up one morning and had the inspiration to write an article. It was about a current political issue. Having my first post go semi-viral gave me the confidence to keep writing and producing quality content.

Meet Justine, The Wanderer!

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I'm Justine (nickname: Wanderer).
Read all about my round the world adventures as I discover new places. Packed full of advice and pretty photography, with a few travel mistakes thrown in for good measure; I'm on a mission to get more of you out there travelling. Come join me!